Tomb Raider: 10th Anniversary Edition

Involved Companies

Core Design

Developer

Eidos Interactive

Publisher

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Summary

Tomb Raider: 10th Anniversary Edition (TRAE) was the last Tomb Raider game developed by Core Design, the original developers of Tomb Raider. It was a remake of the original 1996 game meant to be released for the series 10th anniversary in 2006. In 2003, following the poor sales of Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness and Core expressing franchise fatigue, Eidos Interactive handed the Tomb Raider IP to Crystal Dynamics to reboot the series, resulting in Tomb Raider: Legend. Core started development on TRAE near the end of Tomb Raider: Legend's development as Eidos was acquire by the SCi Entertainment Group. The project was eventually shelved after Eidos and SCi had marketing concerns about Core returning to the Tomb Raider IP. Core was sold to Rebellion Developments in 2006, terminating the development on TRAE. In its place, Crystal Dynamics developed their own remake of the original Tomb Raider called Tomb Raider: Anniversary. It was announced in 2006 after a presentation of Core's game leaked online and released in the following yaer. Following a PSP prototype build of TRAE being made public in 2020, TRAE has been actively restored by fans and there's now an early playable PC build available. It is notable for being more faithful to the original game's level design than the 2007 remake, while still adding new mechanics and updating technical aspects.

Story

Archaeologist-adventurer Lara Croft is approached by a mercenary named Larson, who is working for businesswoman Jacqueline Natla. Natla hires Lara to acquire the Scion, a mysterious artefact buried in the tomb of Qualopec within the mountains of Peru. After recovering the Scion from Qualopec's tomb, Lara is confronted by Larson, who reveals that she is holding a piece of the artefact and Natla has sent rival treasure hunter Pierre Dupont to retrieve the other pieces. Breaking into Natla's offices to find out Pierre's whereabouts, Lara discovers a medieval monk's prayer book, revealing that the Scion was divided between the three rulers of Atlantis and that the next piece is buried beneath an ancient monastery of St. Francis' Folly in Greece. Navigating the monastery, Lara finds the tomb of Atlantean ruler Tihocan, where she kills Pierre and recovers the second piece of the Scion. From a mural, she learns that Tihocan unsuccessfully tried to resurrect Atlantis after a catastrophe struck the original land. After joining both pieces of the Scion, Lara sees a vision that reveals the third and final piece of the Scion was hidden in Egypt after the third Atlantean ruler, a traitor who used the artefact to create a breed of monsters, was captured by Tihocan and Qualopec. Making her way through Egypt to the lost city of Khamoon, Lara kills Larson and recovers the third Scion piece. Emerging from the caves, Lara is ambushed by Natla and her three henchmen, who take the Scion. Lara escapes and stows away aboard Natla's yacht, which takes her to an island holding an Atlantean pyramid filled with monsters. After dispatching Natla's henchmen and making her way through the pyramid, Lara finds the Scion and sees the rest of the vision, revealing Natla to be the betrayer. Lara faces Natla, who reveals that she intends to use her army to push forward humanity's evolution, as she believes both Atlantis and current civilisation are too soft to withstand disaster. Lara decides to destroy the Scion, and Natla's attempt to stop her sends her into a crevasse. After fighting a large legless monster, Lara shoots the Scion, setting off a chain reaction that begins to destroy the pyramid. Lara kills a winged Natla and escapes the exploding island.